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Memphis to charge new fee on Liberty Bowl stadium tickets

Tigers football returned to the Liberty Bowl on Friday for their annual spring game, Friday Night Stripes.

Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal Never mind the Big 12. Memphis fans celebrate as the Tigers win over Southeast Missouri State in the opening game of the season, which also happened to be the first one coached by Mike Norvell, Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.(Photo: Mark Weber)

Memphis plans to charge a new $1 facility fee this football season at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, home to the University of Memphis Tigers.

The facility fee will apply to single-game tickets this season, and single and season tickets in 2018-19 season, according to a proposal to renew the U of M's lease of the stadium for another five years. The fee won't apply to charity, free or student tickets.

The city also plans to charge the fee for games at the Southern Heritage Classic and the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, but those lease agreements are still being negotiated.

The city will use the roughly $15,000 in revenue generated by the fee this season to make improvements to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium that "directly support or enhance the use of the stadium for football and related events," the agreement says. The city plans to begin charging the fee mid-season, curbing this season's revenue estimates.

University of Memphis wide receivers coach David Johnson (right) uses a water gun to create a distraction as receiver Calvin Austin III (left) goes through punt return drills during Tuesday morning practice. The Tigers will head to The University of Memphis Lambuth Campus Wednesday afternoon for a three day training camp in Jackson, Tenn, The team will end the camp with scrimmage game on Saturday that is open to the public. Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal

The new fee could help the city chip away at the stadium's $500,000 annual operating deficit. Parks & Neighborhoods Director Maria Munoz-Blanco said the game-day revenues from the city's three tenants — the U of M, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl and the Southern Heritage Classic — fall short of the year-round operating costs, requiring the city to dip into its general fund to close the gap.

The city would like to make up the shortfall with concert revenue, but the stadium is less in demand for those types of events, Munoz-Blanco said. The building is on the large end of the scale for a concert venue and has higher production costs.

"It is a very tough building to market to the concert world," she said. "But we continue to do so."

Council members criticized Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium manager Spectra, a Comcast company, for not bringing in more events, and quickly agreed to colleague Worth Morgan's suggestion to bring the company in for questioning Sept. 19. Council committee chairwoman Jamita Swearengen said city attorneys should attend the meeting to answer questions about whether Spectra was meeting the terms of its five-year contract, which was renewed by the previous administration and council in 2015.

"Some of this is going to have to be curtailed," council member Jamita Swearengen said of management companies not living up to their contracts.

The city will receive a total of $875,000 in revenue over the five-year term of the agreement with the U of M, including $39,000 in base rent per home game and a $50,000 parking fee per game. The U of M's base rent is increasing for the first time since 2009 by about 10 percent, which is an adjustment for inflation in that period, said Munoz Blanco.

Tom Bowen, U of M athletic director, said the university is expecting a dramatic increase in revenues this year thanks to the recent success of the school's football program. And those revenues will lead to more revenue — especially from concessions — for the city.

"Our season ticket sales are off the charts," Bowen said.

In a nod to the city's plan to redevelop the old Mid-South Fairgrounds, the lease says the university and city will negotiate the university's use of "any new structures or facilities" that come from the redevelopment.

The city plans to submit an application to the state for a tourism development zone (TDZ) by the end of the year, allowing the city to reinvest sales taxes in a redevelopment anchored by a youth sports complex.

"Both partners wanted to acknowledge there will be changes to the site as the TDZ becomes a reality," Munoz-Blanco said.